WBBA Leadership

Kurt Rodgers has over twenty years’ experience in the fixed and mobile broadband industry in Europe and New Zealand. He has a passion for new technology and how it will change and improve our lives. Part engineer, part storyteller, Kurt likes to take the complexity out of emerging technology and explain it in a simple way that everyone understands.

Kurt has held a wide range of technology roles within service provider and vendor organisations, including network planning, architecture, solution consulting and strategy. Over the last decade he has been closely involved in NZ’s Ultra-Fast Broadband programme and works for Chorus as the Network Strategy Manager and Director of the Chorus Fibre Lab.

Maged Tawfeek is a business and technology executive who specialized in Fixed Access network and broadband planning leading company strategy to future evolution to the F5G era.

Mr. Maged has thirty-six years of experience in business management and Fixed Access strategy development.

Mr. Maged has experience in Fixed Network products and technologies,FTTH penetration and evolution strategy. He is also responsible for National Network Broadband Speed and Network Transformation from Copper to fiber using different FTTH evolution strategies.

Sami G. Jarrar career calling has been to build and develop organizations that deliver sustainable businesses and financial growth through a customer-focused approach.

His diversified experience in multiple startups as well as large organizations, be it managing P&L, people, projects, or commercial initiatives has allowed him to have an impact on business performance and market presence.

He was fortunate to have attained this from the vantage points of both a business leader, CEO/GM, and head of a variety of business units.

Tang Yongbo is a postgraduate with a master’s degree in Business Administration. He was appointed as Senior Vice President of the company in December 2021. Mr. Tang served as Deputy General Manager and General Manager of Hunan Branch of China Unicom,and General Manager of Marketing Department of Unicom Group. Mr. Tang is currently Vice General Manager of Unicom Group, Senior Vice President of a Share Company as well as Director, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of CUCL. He is also Deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress. Mr. Tang has extensive experience in management and the telecommunications industry.

Sunil Piyarlall is the Executive for Network Architecture and Modelling at Openserve. With over thirty years of experience in the Information and Communications Technology fraternity, Sunil has held key Business and Technology Strategy positions within the Telkom Group.

He serves on various industry bodies, including the World Broadband Association. Sunil brings his extensive FTTH knowledge, as well as experience from presenting at several local and international conferences, to address industry challenges and advance technology evolution.

Sandy Motley was appointed Vice-President and General Manager of Nokia’s Fixed Networks Division on January 1st, 2021. She is responsible for managing the Fixed Networks business, operations and portfolio with a strong focus on profitable growth.

Sandy started her career at Bell Labs, where she led teams responsible for the design, analysis and manufacturing of military communication systems. She then moved to Wireless where she progressed through a series of positions that showcased her expertise in product design, bids and proposals, contract management, and portfolio product management. In addition, Sandy was on the Board of Directors of the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation and is the executive sponsor for Nokia’s HISPA organization.

She was also named to the Board of Advisors for Light Reading’s Women in Communications. Sandy holds a Master’s of Business Administration in Finance from Farleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, is an Executive Business Program graduate from Smith College, Massachusetts, has done Post-Masters Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University, New York, and holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Mr. Jin Yuzhi (Richard Jin) holds a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Jiaotong University. Since joining Huawei in 1998, he served as Engineer of the WDM/OTN Domains, Director of the WDM/OTN Domains, General Manager of the WDM/OTN Domains, Vice President of the Southern-East Asia Region, President of Transmission Network Product Line.

Mr. Jin has experience in R&D, marketing and strategy, and business operation. In January 2019, Mr. Jin became President of Optical Business Product Line. He is responsible for the end-to-end strategy in R&D, Marketing and business and operations management of the Huawei transmission network and access network product portfolio.

Paul Morrissey is a Globally renowned figure in the world of Telecommunications and Media. He advises many International Groups and Governments on Operational Strategy, Technology, AI and Data Analytics.

He is an Industry veteran who has grown, sold and acquired Telecommunications and Media assets throughout his career. He is also the chairman of the Venture Company Nova Growth Partners in the UK which specialises in Venture Building at the very early stage of the problem life cycle.

Paul is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET) the British Computing Society (FBCS) and The Royal Society (FRSA) as well as a visiting Professor at the University of Bolton where he guides students and staff alike through Innovation and Entrepreneurship journeys.

The Professor is also the Global Ambassador for AI, Big Data Analytics and Customer Experience at TM Forum the Global Standards body for Telecommunications and sits as an active advisory board member at the industry agnostic entity AI Forum.

Pa Touray is the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Gambia Telecommunication Company Limited and the Telecommunications Cellular Company (GAMTEL/GAMCEL), the Gambia's primary provider of core telecommunication services. In this capacity, he focuses on developing strategies to assess the processes, viability, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of projects to enhancing Quality of Service and the delivery thereof to aid in decision making. Pa has been in the telecommunications industry for two decades. He previously held the positions of Regional Core Engineer, Manager Transmission, and Manager Enterprise Risk Management (GAMTEL/GAMCEL). His background is Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Telecommunication systems and Digital Networks and Information Technology. Pa has also successfully completed a number of professional training programs, such as Managing Contingent Liabilities and Government Fiscal Risks in Projects, Enterprise Risk Management, CCNA, Next-generation Network Systems, WLL CDMA Engineering and Planning, and Satellite Systems and Space Technology with Application

Coming Soon

Chip Strange is the Chief Strategy Officer at Ookla, the global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights.

As the Chief Strategy Officer, Chip leads global corporate development, strategic partnerships, government and industry affairs, and the Ookla for Good program. Prior to joining Ookla in 2018, he supported the successful divestiture of Mosaik Solutions to Ookla, where he had been responsible for corporate strategy, marketing, product management, and software engineering functions.

Chip has twenty-six seven years of telecom industry experience, working with network intelligence and communications service providers.